Jonquel Jones Clears the Air About WNBA Player Pay Desires
The current pay discrepancy between the WNBA and the NBA is a hot-button issue that doesn't have a simple solution.
While NBA players make multitudes more money than their WNBA counterparts (the average NBA salary for the 2023-24 season exceeds $12 million while WNBA players earn an average of just $116,580, according to Word in Black), this is because the NBA as a whole earns much more revenue than the WNBA.
However, WNBA players understand this — which New York Liberty superstar (and 2024 WNBA Finals MVP) Jonquel Jones explained in detail during her recent appearance on "The Pivot Podcast".
"We understand that we're getting it to the percentages that we want it to be at," Jones said of WNBA salaries. "I think the thing that we've seen in the media, I think people are misconstruing what we're trying to say. We’re not saying we want to be paid like NBA players. We're saying we want the same percentages as NBA players.
"As the league has grown, obviously there's going to be more viewership, there's going to be more games on television, and we understand that that eventually means there's going to be more money in the players' pockets," Jones continued.
"Maybe I'll be able to reap the benefits of that while I'm playing, but I know that when I leave the league, these young bucks that are going to be coming in after me... overseas what? They don't have to do that."
Jonquel Jones dropped gems on The Pivotal Podcast, discussing the current pay disparity and how the rise of viewership could pave the way for bigger payouts for upcoming WNBA players.
— WNBACentral (@WNBACentral_) November 9, 2024
“We’re not saying we want to be paid like NBA players… we want the same percentages as NBA… pic.twitter.com/5kZQh5qCYY
The WNBA's current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) ends after the 2025 season. It will be up to those who negotiate the league's next CBA to ensure the players' pay expectations are met.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.